Memory
by flockgirl
Summary: Makoto Katsumi and Kyouya Ootori had been very close childhood friends, when she was forced to move to America after her parents die. But two and a half years later she transfers back to Ouran and her world turns upside down.


~Prologue~

_The sun set over the hills as a limousine drove past. A wealthy man and his wife were taking their seven-year-old daughter to her first party. The family who was holding the party had a boy about the same age, so the parents figured she would have a fun time. _

"_Mother?" The little girl asked. _

"_Yes Makoto?" The mother smiled softly at her. _

"_Where are we going?" The little girl's sea green eyes were wide with innocence. _

"_We're going to a party." Her father smiled as well. _

"_Party? What's a party?" _

"_It's where there is music and food. Adults have parties with other work people."_

"_So why am I allowed to come?" Makoto asked. _

"_Because there is another boy about your age that will be there. You two might get along." _

"_A boy?" Makoto smiled. "What's his name?" _

"_Kyouya I believe." Her father said, looking out the window. "Kyouya Otrori." _

_Makoto, gripping her mother's hand tightly, walked into the grand house that stood tall before her. Once inside, she gasped. The house was the most beautiful one she had ever seen. The theme was obvious to anybody, but, being the heir to the Katsumi Family, she could tell there was more to it than what the normal eye could pick up. The house was old fashioned; therefore it subconsciously reminded their guests of their grandmother's house, which was often warm and inviting. _

"_A very clever design." Makoto's mother commented. _

"_Yes." The father nodded in agreement. _

"_The Katsumi Family!" They all turned to see a man walk toward them. "Welcome." _

"_Mr. Ooturi." Makoto's father shook the man's hand warmly. "It's nice to see you again." _

"_Same here." He looked up to Makoto's mother. "Marie." _

_She nodded in acknowledgement. _

_Mr. Ooturi turned now to the small girl. _

"_Makoto is your name, am I right?" He bent to her height. "How about I take you over to meet my son."_

"_Kyouya?" She asked. _

"_Smart girl." He patted down her softly curled light brown hair. "Come." _

_He led her to the back of the big room where the party was held. A boy was sitting in the corner with a computer on his lap. His glasses reflected the screen in front of him and his expression was completely blank. _

"_Kyouya." Mr. Ooturi said to his son. "This is Makoto Katsuki. She's the daughter of a good client so please be nice to her." _

_He looked up and met Makoto's eyes. "Yes father." And looked back down to his computer. _

"_Good." His father gave the girl one last smile and left to greet another family. _

"_Hi!" She said with a huge smile. "I'm-" _

"_I know." His voice was tired and annoyed. "I don't care who you are. I'm working on something right now so please just be quiet." _

_She looked at him for a few seconds and then smiled again. "Your funny." _

_He sighed. "How so?" _

"_You think that just because you say mean things, I will do what you want." _

_He looked up again._

"_I can talk as much as I want." She crossed her arms over her chest. _

"_Oh?" He pushed his glasses up his nose. _

"_Yep." She kneeled in front of him. "So, as I was saying, I'm Makoto. You're Kyouya right? Hey, you like working on the computer, don't you. I don't know what's so cool about the computer. Isn't it much more fun to play outside? I think-" _

_Kyouya looked up from his computer and gave her the look that he gave that cashier when Tamaki left him in the commoner's mall with Haruhi. Yeah, that look. _

_Most people would run away, but Makoto started laughing. She crawled over to his side and pinched his cheek. "Stop frowning. Just smile ok? You should always smile, even when you're annoyed and even when you're sad, smile." _

_Kyouya sat stunned. Her smile was enough to make him forget why he was mad in the first place. _

"_Hey," She let his cheek go and moved to sit beside him. "Wacha doing?" _

_He quickly snapped the computer closed. "Nothing." _

"_Come on." She touched his arm softly. "I won't tell." _

_Her Sea green eyes burned into him, somehow poisoning his brain and controlling his body so that he once again flipped his computer top up. _

"_Whoa!" she said pushing herself up against Kyouya's arm trying to get a better look. The breath caught in his throat. "You're creating your own website?!?!" _

"_It's for my father." He mumbled. _

"_Wow. That's so cool!" she laughed. "Can I help you?" _

"_Um…sure?" _

_She inspected the page to the fullest. "Hey, can I give you some advice?" _

_He nodded. _

"_The Katsumi family has been designing the interior and exterior of houses for a long time. Our main focus is to make sure that our housing is appealing to everybody, no matter who that person is. You also need that in creating a website. Look." Makoto moved her hand to the keyboard, gently brushing it against Kyouya's. He moved his away quickly. _

"_By choosing that color right there, it doesn't open it up and say 'come and buy stuff'. But if you use a little of this color there instead-" she made the change quickly. "It makes it even more welcoming." _

"_Y-Your right." He blinked. _

_They spent the rest night working on the website, tweaking this and changing that. The night flew by and before they knew it, it was time to say goodbye. _

"_Well, it was nice to meet you, Makoto." Kyouya stuck out his hand. _

"_Yep. It was really fun!" she took his hand in hers. Suddenly, she pulled herself to him and threw her arms around his neck in a tight embrace. "Remember." She whispered in his ear. "Smile." _

_He swallowed and she let him go. "Bye-bye!" she gave him one last heart-stopping smile and walked out the door. _

_As they went their separate ways, they couldn't help wondering if they would ever see each other again. _

_The car drove smoothly down the road, the opposite direction in which Makoto's house used to be. It had been more or less a year since she had met Kyouya at the party and so much had happened since then. For one thing, she was a year older. Her eighth birthday party should have been perfect, but instead, it was marked with sadness. Three days before, a truck hit her parents' limousine and they both died._

_Makoto was forced to make a decision she never would have wanted to make. Her only relatives lived in America, so she had to either live far away from the place she called home, or live with dear friends of the Katsuki family. _

_She chose to live with the friends. _

_Nobody told her the name of the family she was to live with until the car that drove her there pulled into a very familiar driveway. A man, his wife, three boys and one girl were standing at the doorstep waiting. Her eyes weren't focused on the grand house in front of her, which they usually were; they focused on the youngest boy in the glasses. _

"_Kyouya." She whispered to herself. She had never forgotten her first party and the boy she met that night. There was just something about him, something she couldn't forget. She looked down at her hands for a moment, wondering to herself if there was any possible way for him to remember her._

_Suddenly, the door opened beside where she sat. A butler smiled at her and offered his hand. "Malady." _

"_Thank you." I smiled at him softly and took his hand. When she stepped out of the car to face her new family, Kyouya's eyes went wide. _

"_Hello." She said with a smile. "I'm very sorry for intruding." _

"_Not a problem." Mr. Ootori smiled and took her hand. "We're happy to help. Your father was a good man." _

_She gave him a smile. "I'm glad you think so." _

_The butler brought my bag around to the front. "Where shall I put her bag milord?" _

"_The guest room next to Kyouya's." The butler shuffled into the house quickly. _

_Mr. Ootori turned now to his third son. "Kyouya, please show Makoto to her room and make her feel at home." _

"_O-of course." He pushed his glasses up his nose. "Right this way." _

_She followed him into the house and up a huge flight of stairs. When they reached the end of a long hallway, he turned to door. _

"_This will be your bedroom." He turned the knob and opened the door to a beautiful room with a soft, cushy looking bed. "The bathroom is around the corner." _

_He started to walk away when she grabbed his wrist. "Hey, how's that website working for you?" _

_He blinked. "You remember that?" _

"_How could I not? It was a lot of fun! Plus, you are one of the most interesting people I have ever met." She smiled happily. "I'm glad I get to stay here." _

"_Stop it." _

_She looked at him stunned. "Stop what?" _

"_Stop acting so happy. I know you must be upset." His dark eyes met hers. "I remember what you said to me that night. You said to smile always. But smiling just covers up what you are really feeling. There are times when you have to stop smiling isn't there?" _

_Makoto's heart squeezed and the fake smile fell from her face. _

"_Makoto," Kyouya said softly. "Your parents just died, doesn't that make you sad?" _

"_I-I-I" tears leaked from her eyes. She slid down the bedroom wall and covered her face with her hands. She had never let anybody see her cry, not ever. _

_Kyouya stood and watched her, not sure of what to do. _

_After a minute or so, Makoto mumbled, "Kyouya? Can you leave? Please." _

_He wavered for a moment but then silently closed the door and left her there alone. _

_Over the next five years Kyouya and Makoto grew closer, to the point that they were inseparable. _

"_Hey Kyouya, could you pass the documents?" the two were sprawled across the floor of Makoto's room working on a project for Mr. Ootori. _

"_Sure." He grabbed a stack of papers and passed it over to her. _

"_Do you think we'll be done soon? We have homework you know." _

"_Homework." He snorted. "It takes us less than ten minutes to finish it all." _

"_True." She sighed laying her head on his back. "I'm just kinda tired of working on this." _

"_So now the truth comes out." He chuckled. "You can take a break if you want."_

"_I cold never leave you to work alone. You would die." She said cuddling closer to him. _

"_Sure I would." He snapped his computer closed. "Anyways, I think we've worked enough for one day. Don't you have piano lessons soon?" _

"_Oh yeah! I forgot about them." Makoto jumped up. "Are you going to listen again?" _

"_It wouldn't hurt." Kyouya got up. "Shall we?" _

_She looped her arm through his. "We shall." _

_The sound of her fingers gently pressing the keys of the grand piano always calmed him down. He looked forward to every Sunday when she would play such beautiful music. Her goofy attitude towards life faded away until he saw nothing more than a girl that he loved as a sister or more. As she played, he thought about what she was to him. He could never decide. Was she someone her cared for more that family? On some occasions he would have said yes. Yet there was always a sort of pull in his stomach that told him otherwise. _

_After her lessons that afternoon, the teens walked back up to his bedroom. _

"_Hey," Makoto started. "I heard you are going on a trip this week."_

"_Mother is taking my brothers and I to France." He seemed perfectly indifferent. _

"_France!" her eyes grew wide. "Wow! I've always dreamed of going to France!" _

"_It's really not all that special." He turned to his computer. _

"_Not special? Do you know how many people fantasize about Paris?" She started to get a bit frustrated. _

"_I just don't see the appeal really. I've been there so many times I don't think it is very interesting anymore." _

_Makoto slammed her hand down on his desk. "Stop flaunting your richness like that. You have no idea how much money it takes to go there do you? A lot!" _

"_I realize that." His velvety voice cooed. "I still don't see the appeal." _

"_You're an idiot! You have no idea what people sacrifice to go on a trip like that!" She was mad now. _

"_Just because you will never be able to go on a trip like that gives you no right to criticize what I have to say."_

"_Oh, and what makes you think I'll never go on a trip like that?" she hissed at him. _

"_You are an adopted child, meaning you are not part of this family. How will you find the money?" _

_The words 'not part of this family' cut into her like razor blades. He was right. She would never really be a part of the Ootori family, which meant she had no family and nobody that really truly cared for her. And the one she loved the most had just reminded her of that. _

_She backed out of that door and slammed it closed. _

_She watched as Kyouya and his brothers drove toward the airport from her bedroom window. His words still hung in the air and clung to her like ice. She sighed and sat down on her bed._

_A soft knock came from the door. _

"_Makoto?" _

"_Mr. Ootori!" She cried. "Please come in." _

_He opened the door to her room. "There is something we need to talk about…" _

_Kyouya re-entered his house after his trip to France. At once he climbed the stairs and walked over to Makoto's room. He knocked once. _

_No answer. _

"_Makoto?" _

_Still no answer. _

_He sheepishly opened the door to find that the room was completely bare._

_What happened? _

"_Kyouya." _

_He turned to see his father standing behind him. _

"_Where's Makoto?" He asked, voice filled with ice. _

"_She left to live with her relatives in America. Also, she cut all hr ties with any members of the Ootori family and swore she would never bother us again. She wanted me to give you this." _

_Mr. Ootori handed Kyouya a slip of paper that said. _

Kyouya,

I am sorry this is so sudden

but I had no choice. You have

been a great friend and

a great person for me to

hold in my heart. I wish you

all the best and remember, smile.

-Makoto

_and just like that, Kyouya's life was over. _

It had been two and a half years since I had been to this school. Ouran, as bright and tall as ever, had not changed a bit. I waited patiently in the office while my uncle signed papers for me to be admitted once again.

"Makoto Katsumi?" I heard the headmaster say. "Are you ready for high school here at Ouran?"

"Yes sir." I smiled softly at him. "I'm sure the rest of the year here will be quite interesting."_  
_


End file.
